The key principle of systems engineering is that an aircraft should be considered as a whole and not as a collection of parts. Another principle is that the requirements for the aircraft and its subsystems emanate from a logical set of organized functions and from economic or customer-oriented requirements as well as the regulatory requirements for certification. The resulting process promises to synthesize and validate the design of aircraft which are higher in quality, better meet customer requirements and are most economical to operate.

This book is more of a how to and a why to rather than a what to guide. It stresses systems engineering is an integrated technical-managerial process that can be adapted without sacrificing quality in which risk handling and management is a major part. It explains that the systems view applies to both the aircraft and the entire air transport system. The book emphasizes that system engineering is not an added layer of processes on top of the existing design processes; it is the glue that holds all the other processes together. The readership includes the aircraft industry, suppliers and regulatory communities, especially technical, program and procurement managers; systems, design and specialty engineers (human factors, reliability, safety, etc.); students of aeronautical and systems engineering and technical management; and government agencies such as FAA and JAA.